Garnet-throated hummingbird facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Garnet-throated hummingbird |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Apodiformes |
| Family: | Trochilidae |
| Tribe: | Lampornithini |
| Genus: | Lamprolaima Reichenbach, 1854 |
| Species: |
L. rhami
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| Binomial name | |
| Lamprolaima rhami (Lesson, 1839)
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The garnet-throated hummingbird (Lamprolaima rhami) is a beautiful bird found in parts of Central America. It lives in countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. This hummingbird is known for its bright colors, especially the males.
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About Its Name
The garnet-throated hummingbird is the only species in its group, called Lamprolaima. This scientific name comes from two ancient Greek words. Lampros means "brilliant" or "radiant," and laimos means "throat." So, its name describes its shining throat!
The second part of its scientific name, rhami, honors a person named Henri-Casimir de Rham. He was a Swiss diplomat and a naturalist who collected many interesting things, including plants and animals.
What It Looks Like
This hummingbird is about 12 to 12.4 centimeters (about 5 inches) long. It weighs between 5.6 and 7.1 grams, which is about as much as a few paper clips. Both male and female garnet-throated hummingbirds have a short, straight, black beak.
The adult male is very colorful. Its upper body is a shiny green. Its face is mostly black, with a small white spot behind each eye. The throat area, called the gorget, is a bright, rosy pink. Its chest is a shimmering violet-blue. The rest of its belly is dark, with green spots on the sides. Its wings are reddish-brown with dark tips. The tail is dark purple, and the outer feathers have gray tips.
The adult female also has a shiny green upper body. Her belly is grayish, and she often has small pink dots on her throat. Her wings and tail look similar to the male's, but the outer tail feathers have white tips. Young males look a bit like adult females but have darker bellies. Young females are similar to adults but have buff-colored edges on their head feathers.
Where It Lives
The garnet-throated hummingbird lives in different areas across Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. It prefers to live inside or at the edges of tropical forests. You can also find it in cloud forests, pine-oak forests, and scrublands.
These birds usually live at high elevations, from about 1,200 to 3,000 meters (about 3,900 to 9,800 feet) above sea level. They are most common between 1,500 and 2,300 meters (about 4,900 to 7,500 feet). In Honduras, they are only found above 1,600 meters (about 5,200 feet).
Behavior
Movement
Garnet-throated hummingbirds move to different elevations during the year. They tend to live at higher places when it's time to breed. After the breeding season, they move to lower areas.
Feeding Habits
This hummingbird mainly eats nectar from flowering shrubs and trees. They especially like plants from the Inga and Erythrina groups. They usually look for food less than 10 meters (about 33 feet) off the ground. Male hummingbirds often protect their favorite feeding spots from other birds.
Besides nectar, they also eat small insects. They catch these insects by flying out from a perch, a behavior called "hawking."
Reproduction
Garnet-throated hummingbirds breed at different times depending on where they live. On the Atlantic side of their range, they breed in April and May. On the Pacific side, they breed between December and March.
The female builds a strong, cup-shaped nest. She uses moss, pieces of leaves, and pine needles. She lines the inside with soft plant fibers to make it cozy. Nests are often attached to exposed roots on earth banks, like those found near streams. Scientists are still learning about how long the eggs take to hatch and how long the young birds stay in the nest.
Vocalization
The song of the garnet-throated hummingbird is described as a "soft, gruff, dry, crackling warble." It also includes "nasal, gurgling notes." Their calls can sound like a nasal "nyik" or "choiw." They also make high-pitched chips and a sharp, slightly buzzing "tis-i-tyu-tyu."
Conservation Status
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has listed the garnet-throated hummingbird as a species of "least concern." This means they are not currently considered to be in danger of extinction. However, their total population size and whether their numbers are increasing or decreasing are not fully known.
These hummingbirds are common in some areas. They can even live in places changed by humans, as long as some forest remains. At one time, the Mexican government considered this species to be "Threatened."
 | George Robert Carruthers |
 | Patricia Bath |
 | Jan Ernst Matzeliger |
 | Alexander Miles |
